SWIM | Schouten Breaks Baumann's Record, Solid Performances at Nationals
After a very successful OUA Championships in early February, the Voyageurs sent their nine qualifiers to Sherbrooke, Quebec for the U SPORTS Swimming Championships taking place February 24th-26th.
Five school records fell throughout the three days, including third year Matthew Schouten cracking former Olympic champion Alex Baumann's 33-year-old 100 freestyle record. Schouten led off the men's 400 free relay in a time of 49.88, breaking Baumann's old mark of 50.00.
That relay team consisting of Schouten, first year swimmers Christopher Eastick and Samuel Boily-Dufour, and fourth year David Ahong broke their own school record in a time of 3:23.08, good for 7th place. Also falling on the men's side was the 400 medley relay record, where Boily-Dufour, Ahong, Schouten and third year breaststroker Andrew Hrycusko combined for a time of 3:48.81 to place 14th.
The women broke both the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relay records as well, as third year Riley Konrad combined with first years Bethany Robinson, Cassandra Drescher and Francesca Zammit-Maempel. In the 400 free relay they placed 11th with a time of 3:53.58, and in the 400 medley their time of 4:20.22 earned them 13th.
Individually, Schouten had the top finish at 10th overall in the 50 freestyle in a time of 22.81. Boily-Dufour also qualified for the final in that event, placing 16th in 23.14. Other top finishes included Schouten 16th in the 100 freestyle, Drescher 17th in the 200 free, Konrad 17th in the 400 IM, and Robinson 17th in the 100 breaststroke.
In the team standings, the women placed 17th overall, holding their position from last year. The men, who brought five men compared to just one last year, moved up two spots to 15th in the country.